But to-morrow is Sunday: I will scribble a line and fix it
on the church-door at Bleakirk, so that the parish may at least know
your predicament before twenty-four hours are out. I must now be
going. The bandanna about your mouth I entreat you to accept as a
memento. With renewed apologies, sir, I wish you good-day; and count
it extremely fortunate that you did not bleed."
He nodded in the friendliest manner, turned on his heel, and walked
quietly towards the bridge. As he untethered his pony, mounted, and
ambled quietly off in the direction of the coast, I lay stupidly
watching him. His black coat for some time lay, a diminishing blot,
on the brown of the moors, stood for a brief moment on the sky-line,
and vanished.
I must have lain above an hour in this absurd and painful position,
wrestling with my bonds, and speculating on my chances of passing the
night by the beck-side. My ankles were tied with my own
handkerchief, my wrists with the thong of my own whip, and this
especially cut me. It was knotted immovably; but by rolling over and
rubbing my face into the turf, I contrived at length to slip the gag
down below my chin. This done, I sat up and shouted lustily.
For a long time there was no reply but the whinnying of my mare, who
seemed to guess something was wrong, and pulled at her tether until I
thought she would break away. I think I called a score of times
before I heard an answering "Whoo-oop!" far back on the road, and a
scarlet coat, then another, and finally a dozen or more appeared on
the crest of the hill.
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